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How long does it take for alcohol to cause damage to organs

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james123x

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Joined
Jan 30, 2011
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14
Location
manchester
Im wondering how long of say drinking 2-3 times a week would it take before alcohol starts causing damage to organs such as the heart (cardiomyopathy/ congestive heart failure etc), I've given up drinking because of chest pain but my doctor said it takes alcoholics years of drinking before it actually causes irrervisble damage.

thanks
 
Yogis will tell you that any alcohol at all causes damage. How much are you drinking each time you drink? I have heard a figure of 7 drinks per week as a healthy figure coming from the western establishment.
 
depends on how many drinks, how often, and for how long.

1-2 units nightly is actually often recommended for cardiac health for some people.

that unit figure is sometimes 5-10x for alcoholics, and thats when it can cause serious damage.
 
The "safe" amount that I've always heard spouted is...

For Men:
-max 12 drinks a week
-max 4 drinks a night
-min of one day a week not drinking

For Women:
-max 10 drinks a week
-max 3 drinks a night
-min of one day a week not drinking
 
i been sucking on alc's tit for most of my 64 years and my liver functions are in good order .
just after an annual blood work up and my liver enzymes score a tad better than last year .

the liver can repair it's self if one doesn't go hog wild.
 
I have a friend that has some sort of liver dysfunction, and he said the doctor told him that the liver is an extremely resilient organ, capable of repairing itself to full health under ever the most extreme circumstances-- I believe him, because he drinks like a champion even with this disorder, and is still in very good physical shape.

For me, I think more damage is done to the heart and brain than the liver, etc... That being said, I think any negative effects can be negated by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

*as I drink a pint of cappuccino stout
 
hobhead said:
i been sucking on alc's tit for most of my 64 years and my liver functions are in good order .
just after an annual blood work up and my liver enzymes score a tad better than last year .

the liver can repair it's self if one doesn't go hog wild.
Click to expand...

Word. Humans are perfectly adapted to ingesting alcohol. Even bread has some amount of ethanol in it. As long as your not going overboard, its hardly a problem. Red wine has a whole slew of health benefits like being good for your heart and having a bunch of antioxidants. Maybe consider occasionally doing a liver detox with milk thistle if your concerned about it?
 
Everyone's body can react differently and does.

That is, two individuals drinking the same amount exactly over a period of time can and do have different physical consequences. Doctors and medical professionals set "standards" in an effort to keep the majority of us healthy.

Genetics plays a big part. Different nationalities that are documented to consume heavy amounts per capita and have lower rates of alcoholism than other nationalities who drink less per capita. Doesn't seem right.

Most of the men in my family on my fathers side are or were heavy drinkers. We have never had one with cirrosis, but based on the amount, frequency and duration of their drinking they should have.

Props to you for stopping drinking out of your health concern, and maybe look back in your family tree to look for similarities to your issues.

Bottom line is we are all similiar, yet different.
 
amapola said:
For Women:
-max 10 drinks a week
-max 3 drinks a night
-min of one day a week not drinking
Click to expand...

Wow!! All the medical professionals I've spoken to in Australia (about my drinking) have told me that for women it's recommended that we have 3 days per week minimum not drinking, and no more than 3 drinks in a day (and I'm assuming it's the same for men but no-one has told me those guidelines because, well, I'm not a man :D)

Changed said:
I have a friend that has some sort of liver dysfunction, and he said the doctor told him that the liver is an extremely resilient organ, capable of repairing itself to full health under ever the most extreme circumstances-- I believe him, because he drinks like a champion even with this disorder, and is still in very good physical shape.
Click to expand...
Damn dude, it could be only a matter of time before your friend starts to have problems! (I'm assuming he's relatively young?)

Indeed, the liver is extremely resilient, but there is still a limit to how much it can take.
And exactly as Intrepid said, everyone reacts differently.

ganja god said:
Word. Humans are perfectly adapted to ingesting alcohol.
Click to expand...

That's actually not entirely true man. Some Indigenous races and a large percentage of Asians have an genetic enzyme defect which renders them less capable of metabolising alcohol.


james123x if you're concerned about your health, then limit your alcohol consumption as much as possible, and get regular health checks :)
 
Changed said:
I have a friend that has some sort of liver dysfunction, and he said the doctor told him that the liver is an extremely resilient organ, capable of repairing itself to full health under ever the most extreme circumstances-- I believe him, because he drinks like a champion even with this disorder, and is still in very good physical shape.

For me, I think more damage is done to the heart and brain than the liver, etc... That being said, I think any negative effects can be negated by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

*as I drink a pint of cappuccino stout
Click to expand...

This is really an incomplete and incorrect view of how alcohol affects the liver. It will not magically heal itself under "the most extreme conditions" or else we wouldn't be transplanting thousands of them per year, while thousands more die waiting for transplants.

As others may have alluded, alcohol is metabolized into even more harmful substances in the liver. Both alcohol and its metabolite acetaldehyde are directly harmful to liver tissue, causing cell damage and an inflammatory response. This damage occurs as blood and oxygen transport is impaired throughout affected hepatic tissue.

As a result of this interference, substances normally processed by the liver (such as lipid compounds) become deposited on the liver. These deposits further impair hepatic function by further inducing inflammation and restricting blood/oxygen flow within the organ.

Damaged hepatic cells do repair themselves, but not back to a functional state. Their repair results in scar tissue which causes issues similar to fatty deposits (inflammatory response that results in free-radical production, oxygen/blood restriction, etc.)

All in all alcohol is not good for your liver. Dietary and genetic factors influence the extent to which an individual will experiencing hepatic damage from alcohol. This isn't to say exercise and a healthy diet will in any way negate the damage of alcohol (it won't) but that a very unhealthy diet (high in carbohydrates and fats) will make the damage even worse.
 
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something i think worth noting is your immune system.

i rarely ever drunk for years, im 21 so all through my teens and up till last year i had been drunk less than 10 times.
My long abstinence from alcohol was probably due to the fact i was occasionally using the likes of mdma and ketamine (which make alcohol seem like a crap drug to me anyway)

So in 2 years ive gotten 1 bad cold, which went away the night i went out raving on mdma, by the morning it was gone !
i started drinking again recently mainly whisky, and i got a really nasty cold not long after drinking, this happened to me before.

So i do personally think alcohol lowers your immune system even if you rarely use it, not sure about organ damage though
 
Over here in the UK the recommended limit by the NHS is 21 units per week I think,
seems like a lot as .5L/24oz can of tramp juice is 4.5 units so thats like four and a half cans. On those exact same cans though it's stated that the daily safe limit is 4 units so I guess OP go by that right there.
 
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